Locking mechanism and server having the same

ABSTRACT

A locking mechanism and server having the same are provided. The locking structure is assembled to a rack having a positioning hole. The server including a slide rail assembly, a chassis and a locking structure. The slide rail assembly includes an outer slide rail and an inner slide rail. The chassis is fixed to one side of the inner slide rail and movable with the inner slide rail. The locking structure is fastened to the positioning hole and fixed to the inner slide rail. The locking structure includes a housing, a handle, a hook element, and a resilient element. When the handle is rotated to drive the hook element to be detached from the positioning hole, the chassis is released and movable with respect to the rack. The locking structure has a simple structural design, so costs can be reduced.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a locking mechanism and, in particular,to a locking mechanism and a server having the same.

BACKGROUND

A server typically incorporates a chassis. The chassis is slid into acabinet by using a slide rail assembly and is fastened to a rack, byusing a fastening mechanism, to prevent the chassis from beingaccidentally detached from the rack.

In conventional servers, the fastening mechanism is directly assembledto the chassis, and then is fastened to the rack. When the fasteningmechanism malfunctions or is damaged, it has to be detached, repaired orreplaced, resulting in vibrations in the chassis, which may compromisethe performance of the server or damage components inside. Furthermore,the conventional fastening mechanism has a complicate structure withmore components inside, leading to high costs.

In view of this, the inventor studied various technologies and createdan effective solution in the present disclosure.

SUMMARY

It is an objective of the present invention to provide a lockingmechanism and a server having the same, lowering costs by its simplestructural design.

It is another objective of the present invention to provide a lockingmechanism and a server having the same. The locking structure is notdirectly assembled to the chassis, so assembling and replacement aresimple and convenient.

It is still another objective of the present invention to provide alocking mechanism and a server having the same, whereby a chassis ismore securely fixed.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a server having a lockingmechanism, the server comprising a slide rail assembly, a chassis and alocking structure. The slide rail assembly is assembled to the rack. Theslide rail assembly includes an outer slide rail and an inner slide railslidable with respect to the outer slide rail. The chassis is fixed toone side of the inner slide rail and movable with the inner slide rail.The locking structure is fastened to a positioning hole of a rack andfixed to the inner slide rail. The locking structure includes a housing,a handle pivotally rotatable with respect to the housing, a hook elementmovable in association with the handle, and a resilient element forrestoring the hook element to an initial position. When the handle isrotated to drive the hook element to be detached from the positioninghole, the chassis is released and movable with respect to the rack.

Accordingly, the present invention further provides a locking mechanismwhich is mounted on an inner slide rail of a slide rail assembly. Thelocking mechanism includes a housing, a handle pivotally rotatable withrespect to the housing, a hook element movable in association with thehandle, and a resilient element for restoring the hook element to aninitial position, wherein the handle is rotated to drive the hookelement to rotate with respect to the inner slide rail, so as to pullthe inner slide rail to slide with respect to the slide rail assembly.

In the present embodiment, the handle includes a first pivot portionpivotally connected to the housing and a pivot block protruding from thefirst pivot portion. The hook element includes a second pivot portionpivotally connected to the housing and includes a hook portion and apush portion connected to the second pivot portion at its two sides. Alength from the second pivot portion to the push portion is larger thana length from the first pivot portion to the pivot block, so it is mucheasier for the push portion to drive rotation of the pivot block, andthereby the hook element can automatically return to the initialposition.

The locking structure has a simple structural design and allowsconvenient operations and easy assembling, and therefore costs aresignificantly reduced. The locking structure is not directly assembledto the chassis, thus greatly reducing vibration occurrence in thechassis during processes of unlocking the locking structure andwithdrawing or pushing back the chassis, thereby protecting componentsinside the chassis.

Another advantage of the present embodiment is that an elastic hook isutilized to further ensure the securing effect between the slide railassembly and the rack, so the chassis can be more securely fixed to theslide rail assembly.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The disclosure will become more fully understood from the detaileddescription and the drawings given herein below for illustration only,and thus does not limit the disclosure, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a server having a locking mechanismaccording to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded view showing the locking structure;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the locking structure;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing the locking structure;

FIG. 5 is a partial perspective view showing the server having thelocking mechanism;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view, taken from a different angle, showing thelocking structure assembled to a slide rail assembly;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing the locking structure assembledto the slide rail assembly;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing that the locking structure isunlocked;

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view showing that the locking structure isunlocked;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing that a chassis is pulled out whenthe locking structure is detached from a rack;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing the locking structure viewed fromanother angle after it is pulled out of the chassis;

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 10;

FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing the locking structure according toanother embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view showing the locking structureassembled to a rack.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Detailed descriptions and technical contents of the present disclosureare illustrated below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.However, it is to be understood that the descriptions and theaccompanying drawings disclosed herein are merely illustrative andexemplary and not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 7, the present invention provides a server 100having a locking mechanism. The server 100 comprises a slide railassembly 1, a chassis 2 and a locking structure 3. The locking structure3 is fastened to a rack 110 having a positioning hole 112. In theembodiment shown in FIG. 1, it is preferably that there are two sliderail assemblies 1 assembled to the rack 110 to form a cabinet (notlabelled), so that the chassis 2 can be withdrawn or pushed into thecabinet. The locking structure 3 is assembled to one single slide railassembly 1. In other words, each chassis 2 has two locking structures 3to facilitate a user's withdrawing or pushing back the chassis 2.However, only one slide rail assembly 1 and one locking structure 3 willbe described hereinafter for brevity.

The slide rail assembly 1 is assembled to the rack 110, the slide railassembly 1 includes an outer slide rail 11 and an inner slide rail 12slidable with respect to the outer slide rail 11. In the embodimentshown in FIG. 5, the slide rail assembly 1 further includes a middleslide rail 13 installed between the outer slide rail 11 and the innerslide rail 12. The middle slide rail 13 can improve the structuralstrength of the inner slide rail 12 or allow the chassis 2 to bewithdrawn a longer distance. The chassis 2 is fixed to one side of theinner slide rail 12 and is moved with the inner slide rail 12.

The locking structure 3 is assembled to the positioning hole 112 of therack 110 and fixed to the inner slide rail 12 (i.e. fixed to the otherside of the inner slide rail 12 opposite to the chassis 2). The lockingstructure 3 includes a housing 31, a handle 32 pivotally rotatable withrespect to the housing 31, a hook element 33 movable in association withthe handle 32, and a resilient element 34 for restoring the hook element33 to an initial position (not labelled). When the handle 32 is rotatedto drive the hook element 33 to be detached from the positioning hole112, the chassis 2 is released and movable with respect to the rack 110.

Referring to FIGS. 2, 3, 4 and 7, the handle 32 includes a first pivotportion 321 pivotally connected to the housing 31 and a pivot block 322protruding from the first pivot portion 321, and the hook element 33includes a second pivot portion 331 pivotally connected to the housing31 and includes a hook portion 333 and a push portion 332 connected tothe second pivot portion 331 at its two sides. The push portion 332 isdisposed corresponding to the pivot block 322, and the hook portion 333is detachably fastened to the positioning hole 112.

Referring to FIGS. 8 and 9, the housing 31 further includes a blocker311 disposed corresponding to the pivot block 322, a hook hole 312 fromwhich the hook element 33 sticks out, and a rod 313 protruding from aninner surface of the housing 31. The blocker 311 prevents over-rotationof the handle 32. The hook element 33 includes a bar 334 disposedbetween the second pivot portion 331 and the hook portion 333. The rod313 and the bar 334 are inserted in two ends of the resilient element34, respectively. The resilient element 34 can store potential energyfor restoring the hook element 33 to the initial position (i.e. a lockedstatement).

The housing 31 further includes an accommodating space 314 receiving theresilient element 34, two shafts 35 inserted through the first pivotportion 321 and the second pivot portion 331 respectively, and anopening 315 communicating with the accommodating space 314. The handle32 includes a pull part 323 adjacent to the opening 315. Therefore, auser's fingers can pass through the opening 315 to hold the pull part323 to unlock the locking structure 3. Each of the shafts 35 is, forexample, a pin. The two shafts 35 are pivotally fixed to the housing 31.

As shown in FIGS. 7 to 9, a length H from the second pivot portion 331to the push portion 332 is larger than a length h from the first pivotportion 321 to the pivot block 322. That is to say, a lever arm from thesecond pivot portion 331 to the push portion 332 is larger than a leverarm from the first pivot portion 321 to the pivot block 322, so it ismuch easier for the push portion 332 to drive rotation of the driveblock 322. In addition, an axis of the first pivot portion 321 and anaxis of the second pivot portion 331 are not on the same horizontalplane. As a result, the push portion 332 and the pivot block 322 aremovable in association with each other in an abutting manner.

When the handle 32 is rotated to drive rotation of the hook element 33,the pivot block 322 pushes the push portion 332 to cause the hookportion 333 to rotate about the second pivot portion 331, so the hookportion 333 is tilted to be detached from the positioning hole 112 ofthe rack 110, and at the same time the resilient element 34 stretchesout to store potential energy for automatically restoring the hookelement 33 to the original position. As shown in FIG. 10, the user keepsholding the handle 32 and exerts an outward force, then the chassis 2can be pulled out (i.e. a released state). Referring to FIG. 12, whenthe user releases the handle 32, the hook portion 333 is pulled back bythe resilient element 34, so that the hook element 33 is restored to theoriginal position. It should be noted that, when the resilient element34 is pulling back the hook portion 333, the push portion 332 easilypushes back the pivot block 322 and restores the handle 32 to theoriginal position due to the lever principle.

The hook portion 333 has an inclined surface 335 at its one endcorresponding to the positioning hole 112. Therefore, when the user ispushing back the chassis 2, the inclined surface 335 of the hook element33 can easily pass through the positioning hole 112 to get the hookelement 33 fastened to the positioning hole 112. By this way, thelocking structure 3 is again in the locked state, i.e. the lockingstructure 3 is fastened to the rack 110 and the chassis 2 is alsosecured to the rack 110, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 7.

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 7, the locking structure 3 further includes afixing element 36. The fixing element 36 includes a first fixing plate361 fixed to the housing 31 and a second fixing plate 362perpendicularly connected to the first fixing plate 361. The secondfixing plate 362 is fixed to the inner slide rail 12. The lockingstructure 3 also includes a reinforcing element 37 fixed between thehousing 31 and the fixing element 36, the reinforcing element 37includes a first board 371 fixed to the housing 31 and a second board372 perpendicularly connected to the first board 371, and the secondboard 372 is fixed to the first fixing plate 361.

In the present embodiment, the fixing element 36 and the reinforcingelement 37 are separately assembled to the housing 31 to improve thestructural strength of the housing 31 or enhance the connection rigiditybetween the housing 31 and the inner slide rail 12. However, inalternative embodiments, one or both of the fixing element 36 and thereinforcing element 37 can be integrally formed with the housing 31, andthis may vary as required. In the present embodiment, a plurality offastening elements 40, such as screws or bolts, are used for fasteningbetween the fixing element 36, the reinforcing element 37, the housing31, and the inner slide rail 12. The fixing element 36 and thereinforcing element 37 are sized to match the dimensions of the housing31, and it is preferable that the fixing element 36, the reinforcingelement 37 and the housing 31 are all made of metal.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, the server 100 furtherincludes a coupling element 38 fixed to an outer surface of the outerslide rail 11, an elastic hook 39 disposed on the coupling element 38,and two buffering elements 114 disposed corresponding to the lockingstructure 3. The elastic hook 39 is used to improve the fastening effectof the slide rail assembly 2 and/or the chassis 2 fixed to the rack 110.One end of the elastic hook 39 is fixed to the coupling element 38, andthe other end of the elastic hook 39 is fastened to the positioning hole112. The elastic hook 39 includes an elastic arm 391, and the elasticarm 391 is in contact with an end edge of the coupling element 38 tokeep the elastic hook 39 fastened to the positioning hole 112. Theelastic hook 39 and the hook element 33 are arranged side by side andfastened to the same positioning hole 112. Each buffering element 114 isinserted in each positioning hole 112. The buffering element 114consists of, but is not limited to, rubber or silicone, used to absorbthe force for pushing the locking structure 3/chassis 2 back to thecabinet (not labelled), thereby protecting the chassis 2.

Referring to FIGS. 13 and 14, the present embodiment further includes atleast one securing element 50 and a spiral spring 501 receiving thesecuring element 50. The securing element 50 is inserted through thehousing 31 of the locking structure 3 and secured to the positioninghole 113. The spiral spring 501 enhances the securing effect. As shownin FIG. 14, the buffering element 114 includes a through hole 116, asleeve element 373 such as a sleeve is rivet-connected to the secondboard 372 of the reinforcing element 37, thereby allowing the spiralspring 501 to move stably in the sleeve element 373. The securingelement 50 such as a bolt or a screw is inserted through the sleeveelement 373, the housing 31, and the through hole 116 of the bufferingelement 114 to be secured to the positioning hole 112. This makes thechassis 2 more securely fixed to the rack 110.

The present invention further provides a locking mechanism 3 which ismounted on an inner slide rail 12 of a slide rail assembly 1. Thelocking mechanism 3 includes a housing 31, a handle 32 pivotallyrotatable with respect to the housing 31, a hook element 33 movable inassociation with the handle 32, and a resilient element 34 for restoringthe hook element 33 to an initial position, wherein when the handle 32is rotated to drive the hook element 33 to be rotated and detached fromthe positioning hole 112 of the chassis 110, the inner slide rail 12 isslidable with respect to the slide rail assembly 1. Other detailsregarding the rest structure of the locking mechanism 3, a linkedrelationship of the components thereof, and operations of the slide railassembly 1 are already described in the foregoing embodiment, so adescription thereof is omitted herein for brevity.

The locking structure 3 of this embodiment has a simple structuraldesign and allows convenient operations and easy assembling of allcomponents, and therefore costs are significantly reduced. In additionto that, the locking structure 3 is not directly assembled to thechassis 2, thus greatly reducing vibration occurrence in the chassis 2during processes of unlocking the locking structure 3 and withdrawing orpushing back the chassis 2, and thereby protecting components inside thechassis 2.

Besides, the elastic hook 39 is utilized to further ensure the securingeffect between the slide rail assembly 1 and the rack 110, so thechassis 2 can be more securely fixed to the slide rail assembly 1.

It is to be understood that the above descriptions are merely thepreferable embodiment of the present invention and are not intended tolimit the scope of the present invention. Equivalent changes andmodifications made in the spirit of the present invention are regardedas falling within the scope of the present invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A server having a locking mechanism, comprising:a slide rail assembly assembled to a rack, the slide rail assemblyincluding an outer slide rail and an inner slide rail slidable withrespect to the outer slide rail; a chassis, the chassis being fixed toone side of the inner slide rail and movable with the inner slide rail;and a locking structure, the locking structure being fastened to apositioning hole of a rack and fixed to the inner slide rail, thelocking structure including a housing, a handle pivotally rotatable withrespect to the housing, a hook element movable in association with thehandle, and a resilient element for restoring the hook element to aninitial position, wherein when the handle is rotated to drive the hookelement to be detached from the positioning hole, the chassis isreleased and movable with respect to the rack, wherein the handleincludes a first pivot portion pivotally connected to the housing and apivot block protruding from the first pivot portion, and the hookelement includes a second pivot portion pivotally connected to thehousing and includes a hook portion and a push portion connected to thesecond pivot portion at its two sides; wherein a length from the secondpivot portion to the push portion is larger than a length from the firstpivot portion to the pivot block, and an axis of the first pivot portionand an axis of the second pivot portion are not on the same horizontalplane.
 2. The server having the locking mechanism according to claim 1,wherein the push portion is disposed corresponding to the pivot block,and the hook portion is fastened to the positioning hole.
 3. The serverhaving the locking mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the housingfurther includes a blocker disposed corresponding to the pivot block, ahook hole from which the hook element sticks out, and a rod protrudingfrom an inner surface of the housing, the hook element includes a bardisposed between the second pivot portion and the hook portion, and therod and the bar are inserted in two ends of the resilient elementrespectively.
 4. The server having the locking mechanism according toclaim 1, wherein the housing includes an accommodating space receivingthe resilient element, two shafts inserted through the first pivotportion and the second pivot portion respectively, and an openingcommunicating with the accommodating space, the handle includes a pullpart adjacent to the opening, and the two shafts are pivotally connectedto the housing.
 5. The server having the locking mechanism according toclaim 4, wherein when the handle is rotated to drive rotation of thehook element, the pivot block pushes the push portion to cause the hookportion to rotate about the second pivot portion, so that the hookportion is tilted upwards and detached from the positioning hole, andthe resilient element stretches out to store potential energy forrestoring the hook element to the initial position.
 6. The server havingthe locking mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the lockingstructure further includes a fixing element, the fixing element includesa first fixing plate fixed to the housing and a second fixing plateperpendicularly connected to the first fixing plate, and the secondfixing plate is fixed to the inner slide rail.
 7. The server having thelocking mechanism according to claim 6, wherein the locking structurefurther includes a reinforcing element fixed between the housing and thefixing element, the reinforcing element includes a first board fixed tothe housing and a second board perpendicularly connected to the firstboard, and the second board is fixed to the first fixing plate.
 8. Theserver having the locking mechanism according to claim 1, furthercomprising a coupling element fixed to an outer surface of the outerslide rail and an elastic hook disposed on the coupling element, whereinone end of the elastic hook is fixed to the coupling element and theother end of the elastic hook is fastened to the positioning hole. 9.The server having the locking mechanism according to claim 8, whereinthe elastic hook includes an elastic arm, the elastic arm is in contactwith an end edge of the coupling element to keep the elastic hookfastened to the positioning hole.
 10. The server having the lockingmechanism according to claim 8, wherein the elastic hook and the hookelement are arranged side by side and fastened to the same positioninghole.
 11. The server having the locking mechanism according to claim 1,further comprising a buffering element disposed corresponding to thelocking structure, and the buffering element is inserted in thepositioning hole.
 12. The server having the locking mechanism accordingto claim 11, wherein the buffering element includes a through hole andconsists of rubber or silicone.
 13. The server having the lockingmechanism according to claim 1, further comprising at least one securingelement, the securing element being inserted through the housing of thelocking structure and secured to the positioning hole.
 14. The serverhaving the locking mechanism according to claim 13, wherein the securingelement is received in a spring to increase a securing effect.
 15. Alocking mechanism, mounted on an inner slide rail of a slide railassembly, the locking mechanism comprising a housing, a handle pivotallyrotatable with respect to the housing, a hook element movable inassociation with the handle, and a resilient element for restoring thehook element to an initial position, wherein when the handle is rotatedto drive the hook element to rotate with respect to the inner slide railso as to release the inner slide rail to slide with respect to the sliderail assembly, wherein the housing further includes a blocker disposedcorresponding to the pivot block, a hook hole from which the hookelement sticks out, and a rod protruding from an inner surface of thehousing, the hook element includes a bar disposed between the secondpivot portion and the hook portion, and the rod and the bar are insertedin two ends of the resilient element respectively.
 16. The lockingmechanism according to claim 15, wherein the handle includes a firstpivot portion pivotally connected to the housing and a pivot blockprotruding from the first pivot portion, and the hook element includes asecond pivot portion pivotally connected to the housing and includes ahook portion and a push portion connected to the second pivot portion atits two sides.
 17. The locking mechanism according to claim 16, whereinthe housing includes an accommodating space receiving the resilientelement, two shafts inserted through the first pivot portion and thesecond pivot portion respectively, and an opening communicating with theaccommodating space, the handle includes a pull part adjacent to theopening, and the two shafts are pivotally connected to the housing. 18.A server having a locking mechanism, comprising: a slide rail assemblyassembled to a rack, the slide rail assembly including an outer sliderail and an inner slide rail slidable with respect to the outer sliderail; a chassis, the chassis being fixed to one side of the inner sliderail and movable with the inner slide rail; and a locking structure, thelocking structure being fastened to a positioning hole of a rack andfixed to the inner slide rail, the locking structure including ahousing, a handle pivotally rotatable with respect to the housing, ahook element movable in association with the handle, and a resilientelement for restoring the hook element to an initial position, whereinwhen the handle is rotated to drive the hook element to be detached fromthe positioning hole, the chassis is released and movable with respectto the rack, wherein the locking structure further includes a fixingelement, the fixing element includes a first fixing plate fixed to thehousing and a second fixing plate perpendicularly connected to the firstfixing plate, and the second fixing plate is fixed to the inner sliderail; wherein the locking structure further includes a reinforcingelement fixed between the housing and the fixing element, thereinforcing element includes a first board fixed to the housing and asecond board perpendicularly connected to the first board, and thesecond board is fixed to the first fixing plate.